So, I set out to create an image for a new tutorial. I thought I'd kept it short and uncomplicated, but... erm... well, the steps seem to feel way easiere than they actually are to explain especially since this time I thought I'd put in more about my process/workflow/chaos (whichever you want to call it). Breaking that down into digestible pieces while keeping with my timeline wasn't easy, so if it feels a bit disorganized, that's the reason: I am disorganized when it comes to my manips! Yes, sure, I am almost obsessive when it comes to putting my layers in folders and naming them according to the stock source, but that's just about the extent of it.

In short: I hope you can learn something here and I'd love to hear if anything of this was actually usable for you

About the Tutorial

This is not a step by step guide on how you can recreate the image. I couldn't teach you that even if I wanted to! It's just an accumulation of techniques that work for me - they're not the only way to do things in PS, but they are my way.

This walkthrough was created with Photoshop CS5, but most should work just as well in older versions. If you're unsure where to find something, Photoshop comes with an extensive help file (accessible via F1 - I mean the built in help, not the online help, that one can be a tad confusing especially when searching for something really basic, like where do I find that tool etc).

Additional tutorials & articles that are referenced in this one:

The Lighting Tutorial, part 1 & 2 [link] & [link] - explains in more detail the soft light layers, the clipping layers/masks and how to create a layer from a style

Layer Masks and Colour Gradients [link] - more on setting an atmosphere and working with masks

Know Your Basics - Perspective [link] - is an article about what perspective is and how to use it in your manips

Know your Basics - Composition [link] - deals with how the Rule of Thirds can be applied to art and how to use "leading lines" to guide the viewer's eye to the focal point

any kind of feedback is much appreciated - it takes ages to write these and comments (and faves) are what keep me going!

This is an amazing walkthrough! I don't do photomanipulation, but I still found this to be incredibly useful, the tips and tricks you gave about lighting and atmosphere are all really good. I've been looking for a way to enhance my lighting and using layers set to Soft Light seems like a good idea.

The final piece is gorgeous by the way Seeing you slowly transform the stocks into this is just so great, I love seeing the evolution between each stage. thank you for sharing your techniques!

I always love to see the process and how manips are done and you do really great tutorials. This piece almost has a 3D quality about it, the background, the dog, then the girl. It doesn't have a flat appearance like most manips, love that.

wow! you are great great great so much great !from today you are my teacher and i am your student and i will be always waiting for your new tutorial OK my teacher and one thing more sorry for my poor English